The invention relates generally to agricultural equipment, such as harvesters, and more specifically, to a system and method for conveying agricultural material in a harvester.
A harvester may be used to harvest agricultural crops, such as barley, beans, beets, carrots, corn, cotton, flax, oats, potatoes, rye, soybeans, wheat, or other plant crops. Moreover, a combine (e.g., combine harvester) is a type of harvester generally used to harvest grains (e.g., barley, corn, flax, oats, rye, soybeans, wheat, etc.). Accordingly, a combine may be used to separate a plant into different agricultural materials, such as grain and straw. During operation of a combine, the harvesting process begins by removing the plant from the ground, usually using a cutting device. The combine then separates the plant into two agricultural materials by generally directing the grain to a cleaning system and the straw toward a beater. The beater directs the straw toward a pan to further separate grain from the straw. In some combines, the cleaning system includes multiple vibrating sieves that isolate the grain from the other agricultural material and a blower that blows the agricultural material away from the grain.
Unfortunately, the beater/pan configuration may reduce harvesting efficiency. For example, the beater is heavy and may weigh between 300 and 400 lbs. Furthermore, the pan, placed below the beater, is curved to accommodate the beater and may restrict airflow from the blower. The blower is responsible for separating certain agricultural material (e.g., straw) from the grain. As such, the restricted airflow resulting from the pan may reduce cleaning efficiency, which may result in increased time and expense for harvesting. Furthermore, in certain combines it may be beneficial to know the amount of agricultural material being harvested by the combine while the harvester is in operation in order to adjust the harvesting process for optimal grain recovery.